Brave New World

“But I don’t want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”
“In fact”, said Mustapha Mond, “you’re claiming the right to be unhappy.”
“Alright then,” said the Savage defiantly, “I’m claiming the right to be unhappy.”

Brave New World is a beautiful work – weaving in a wide array of themes that are still as applicable today as there when Huxley published the book in 1932. Huxley creates a seemingly utopian society where everyone and everything has a clearly defined and bound purpose while at the same time technology advances prevent aging and diseases.

Then, thankfully, we meet Bernard. Bernard embarks on a journey of self-discovery that leads him to question if the society that his peers have built, which takes away the troubles of aging and diversity but also removes the joy of motherhood, literature, and having a true family, is worth it. This same journey leads Bernard to meet the “Savage” – a character who lives in an Indian reservation that has managed to reject modern advances. As a reader, I came out on the other side of this work reminded that while trials, troubles, and pain are difficult – they are what makes us human and draw us to one another. Removing them all leaves a world full of pleasure but lacking in true purpose and belonging. And without purpose and belonging we are doomed to fail. Read it, you won't regret it.